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,
 Townes van Zandt He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of an oil executive and travelled throughout his youth around Texas and Colorado. Van Zandt is considered a pioneer along with Gram Parsons in the sub-genre referred to as Alternative country. His influences stretched farther than country music but were still deeply rooted in Texas. Perhaps one of his greatest influences was Texas Blues man Lightnin' Hopkins whose songs were a constant part of his repertoire.
Although generally shy and reserved, his performances featured a dry humor that was an integral part of his songwriting. Most of his earliest songs were light-hearted and humorous, but by his first releases on Tomato Records had more seriously harnessed his talent for dark and bittersweet love songs and ballads, like "For the Sake of the Song" and "Tecumseh Valley". His output was brilliant, but limited his renown to a few but appreciative small Texas bars. Tomato Records released a 2 disc live album from the Old Quarter in Houston, Texas that captured him in such a performance, and includes his most popular & definitive songs like "Lungs", "For the Sake of the Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "To Live Is To Fly', and his most famous (thanks to numerous covers, most notably by Willie Nelson), "Pancho & Lefty".
He continued writing and performing at his own pace through the nineties until his death in 1997.
"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle.
Townes Van Zandt is the great great great grandchild of Isaac Van Zandt, a prominent leader of the Republic of Texas and early state of Texas.
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